BPA Holds Port Sales Event Targeting Shippers and Logistics Companies in Japan

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Busan Port Authority (BPA) conducted Busan Port port sales in Tokyo and Toyama Prefecture, Japan, targeting local cargo owners and logistics companies to attract transshipment cargo.

The event was held over two days from the 14th to the 15th with the aim of revitalizing routes between Busan Port and Japanese ports, and BPA introduced the competitiveness of Busan Port as a global transshipment port during the event.

In particular, the focus was on the merit of reducing logistics costs when using Busan Port and increasing the trust of Japanese cargo owners in Busan Port transshipment.

According to data confirmed by BPA in December last year from logistics companies and others, when cargo owners in Toyama Prefecture export to major trading countries such as China and Southeast Asia, transshipping at Busan Port can reduce logistics costs by about 21 to 30% compared to using major Japanese ports such as Nagoya Port.

The western coastal areas of Japan, including Toyama, are more than 250 km away from major Japanese ports such as Nagoya and Kobe, resulting in high land transportation costs to move cargo to these ports.

Additionally, due to the decline in facility competitiveness of major Japanese ports, a decrease in liner services, and a worsening shortage of truck drivers within Japan, logistics costs continue to rise.

Therefore, from the perspective of cargo owners in the western coastal region of Japan, transshipping at Busan Port is much more advantageous in terms of time and cost than transporting import and export cargo through major Japanese ports.

Busan Port port sales in progress.

Despite the decrease in cargo volume at Busan Port last year, Japanese transshipment cargo increased by 4.2%. The volume of cargo between Busan Port and Japan has turned to an upward trend three years after declining due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

BPA plans to strengthen port sales activities targeting Japanese cargo owners, including holding Busan Port briefings from this year to continue the increase in Japanese cargo volume.

Kang Jun-seok, President of BPA, who attended the event, said, “Japan is the third largest market based on Busan Port cargo volume, and about 1.72 million TEU, approximately 10% of Japan’s total export and import cargo of 17.92 million TEU in 2021, was transshipped at Busan Port. We will strive to strengthen exchanges with regional Japanese ports and cargo owners so that more volume can be transshipped at Busan Port.”